Postgraduate and early career

Fixing problems in the academic job market by reducing the number of PhDs would homogenise the sector, argues Tom Cutterham

Matthew Reisz on when the worlds of higher education and graphic novels collide

Billy Bryan and Josh Berlyne are not convinced by the UK government’s doctoral loans plan

Off to an academic conference? Helena Ledmyr offers some tricks to getting the most out of attending a scholarly gathering

Many early career researchers have ‘not gone to the library for years’, according to report

Junior academics can access services without physically visiting premises, writes Holly Else

Overleaf’s John Hammersley on what drove his doctorate and transition from universities to industry

UK universities can now ‘feel confident’ in recruiting postgraduate students for 2017-18, says RCUK chair

Minority groups still not represented at professorial level by 2080, study suggests

Funding conference attendance out of your own pocket? Don't worry – there are ways to make back the cash through other academic activities. Catherine Fletcher explains.

One year shaved off time to degree under new national framework

French cartoonist finds rich comic potential in the PhD she never finished

Research suggests low self-efficacy among graduate students increases writing anxiety

Doctoral students who downplay their part-time status forget that they excel in key ways, says Rebecca Gelding

University of Auckland student claims the top prize for Universitas 21 3MT competition 

Taking an unconventional route after studying for a doctorate should not be seen as a failure, says Fiona Whelan

Gayle Munro on the disparaging comment that fuelled her thesis and the perception that non-traditional doctoral students lack commitment

Early career researchers could benefit most from changes to funding structures, says Sven Sewitz, but he is concerned that there simply isn’t the will to make it happen

Only one in 10 PhD graduates will work in academia. Institutions have to do more to ready the other nine for their careers, says a postdoctoral research fellow

Billy Bryan and Furaha Asani look at how to get the most out of your doctoral studies

Sarah Crook reflects on what it costs early career researchers to wait years to hear whether journals want to publish their articles

Seasoned scholars offer tips on first lectures, the ‘Eton mess’ of PhD supervision and why hobbies belong at work

Scholarship is about valuing things that can’t be counted and shouldn’t be rushed, says Adam Benjamin Smith

University of Essex vice-chancellor Anthony Forster outlines his university’s plans for postgraduates who take on teaching responsibilities – a thorny issue for the UK higher education sector

Graduate teachers will be placed on the university’s pay scale and receive the same employment benefits as other staff

Why are postgraduates and postdocs so expendable and professors so untouchable, asks a geneticist subjected to a paranoid boss’ abuse

The proposal to end the portability of research outputs could penalise ECRs, writes Nick Wright

Many doctoral candidates feel poorly looked after. More awareness and empathy from academics can help fight that, says Geoffrey Cantor

Competition for postdoctoral fellowships is fierce, so your application needs to stand out as realistic, coherent and compelling. Here, five Stanford University scientists reveal 10 tips from their own experiences when attempting to secure a place

Kirsty Rolfe says the portability proposal does nothing to ease the fears and worries of young researchers struggling to start careers

European researchers call for a ‘radical reorganisation’ to help undergraduates and PhD students access grants

Asking applicants for academic posts to submit references from supervisors can lead to exploitation; the practice needs to end, says Sanjay Pulipaka

The ‘university-educated expert’ v ‘common man’ conflict cements the notion that higher study is not for the poor, says Ryan Coogan

Sub-Saharan Africa’s first online university will help other institutions in the region to embrace technology, says co-founder

In academia, and more widely, women are too easily relegated to the ‘less competent than men’ category, writes Dame Athene Donald

Some believe the momentous referendum result may harm the UK’s ability to compete for the world’s best PhD students

Lack of progression may help to explain BME under-representation in academic workforce

Plans to allow graduates of France’s most elite higher education institutions to claim the title of PhD without taking a viva have enraged some Gallic scholars

Fewer students expected to come to UK from Continent in wake of Brexit

A review at the University of Nottingham found many doctoral students were unsure where to turn for help

Danish academic says that building a knowledge economy is no longer a ‘dominant wish’ for country leaders

Doctoral supervisors are having to adapt to a new power dynamic with their students, conference will hear

Friendships can blossom naturally between scholars and students, but are they always problematic? Nina Kelly navigates the boundaries

Institutions face losing up to a quarter of their total funding council grant as cuts from Welsh government bite

Specialist language in scientific literature can put people off. Doctoral candidate Michelle Reeve asks: is it really necessary?

Giulio Regeni’s murder poses difficult questions for the sector on what doctoral students’ research should entail

How can it be that experienced, full-time lecturers teaching huge classes at Canadian universities can be on such low salaries that they officially qualify as “poor”?, asks Andrew W. Robinson

Most research isn't rocket science, so just do your best, says Beth McMillan

Kristen Burton had achieved her goals, yet had to grasp how profound the transition out of grad school could be

Majority of junior academics are on ‘precarious’ short-term contracts, says UCU report that criticises job insecurity

BRIDGE fellowships build on partnership established between two institutions in 2014

Nicola Hemmings reflects on the slip-ups she made as she built her career in science, and offers advice on how to avoid them

Take it as a compliment if other people are doing similar studies to you, says Sam Schwarzkopf

Ingrid Curl shares simple rules for keeping your work clear and jargon-free

Gaining a PhD is a tough act for most students, so how do those with new babies cope while having the additional demands of parenthood?

Aaron Huertas offers advice on how to overcome perceptions of being cold but competent 

Deborah Netolicky thought that the submission of her PhD was the end, but now she realises that it is just a beginning

Housing crisis in Oxford, Cambridge and London means the cost of loan and joint equity schemes has tripled in past five years

Joint PhD programmes that split doctoral studies between different universities may help to improve low outward mobility